Many studies of wearable robots enhancing muscular power on a human body or humanoid robots have been conducted with development of the technology about robots. Sensors are mounted on the soles of the feet to be able to recognize walking patterns when wearable robots or humanoid robots are walking.
According to KR10-2010-0003207 A, titled “Foot sensor apparatus for wearable robot and method for determining intention of user using the same”, particularly a pressure sensor in a plurality of contact type sensors is mounted on a foot of a robot, so that when the sensor is operated by pressure of the sole on the ground, the intention of a walker is determined.
FIG. 1 is a view of a robotic shoe of the related art. The sole is composed of an upper part and a lower part. The lower part is made of an elastic material, so the lower part can sensitively respond to a change in pressure.
FIG. 2 is a view when the robotic shoe of the related art is not in contact with the ground G, showing that pressure is not applied to a pressure sensor 50 mounted on a sole 10. In general, the pressure sensor 50 uses a tape switch that is a contact type sensor. FIG. 3 is a view showing the robotic shoe in contact with the ground G. As shown in FIG. 3, when the underside of the sole 10 comes in contact with the ground G, the bottom is pushed up inside a mounting space 30 by pressure and the pressure is applied to the pressure sensor 50. Therefore, the pressure sensor 50 operates and the sensed information is transmitted to a controller 90 (see FIG. 1), thereby determining the intention of walking.
However, it is required that the contact type sensor should operate even with small pressure and have durability that can resist considerable load. The durability and reliability of the sensor are likely to be decreased by repetitive load.
Therefore, there is a need to develop a robotic shoe that can resist a considerable load while sensitively responding to an ever-changing environment, that maintains durability and reliability of sensors even under repetitive loads.
The description provided above is just for helping understanding the background of the present inventive concept and should not be construed as being included in the related art known by those skilled in the art.